Paris hosted the VIII summer Olympics. This was the second time that Paris hosted the Olympics, the first being in 1900. Just before these Olympics France also hosted the 1924 Winter Olympic Games, which was the first ever winter games. France would later host the 1968 Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble and the 1992 Winter Olympic Games in Albertville. 44 nations competed in the Paris games in the 17 sports and 126 events.

After Chamonix and Paris Games, the IOC forbid such practices as compensating athletes for time taken away from work to compete, making it almost impossible for working-class athletes to participate.